No RAM Under Next Year's Tree: Memory Giant Micron Predicts Shortages in 2026 Due to AI

Micron, one of the world’s largest memory suppliers, forecasts a prolonged global RAM shortage due to the increasing demand driven by the AI boom. This shortage will impact consumers upgrading their consumers, as well as computer and video game console manufacturers.

The Verge reports that Micron, a leading player in the global memory market, has recently released its earnings report, which paints a concerning picture for the future of consumer RAM supply. According to Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, the company expects the tight industry conditions across DRAM and NAND flash memory to persist through and beyond 2026, as the AI boom continues to drive up demand.

The tech giant reported record revenue of $13.64 billion in the past quarter, a significant increase from the $8.71 billion it earned during the same period last year. This impressive growth is largely attributed to the increasing demand from companies like OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft, and Google, as they fill their data centers with powerful chips that require high-bandwidth memory (HBM).

However, this surge in demand for HBM technology, which uses three times the silicon wafers compared to standard DRAM, has led Micron to prioritize these lucrative deals over its consumer-facing business, Crucial. As a result, the company has recently shuttered Crucial, leaving fewer resources for the production of DRAM used in everyday products such as PCs, smartphones, smart TVs, and even cars. This shift in focus has already started to impact the prices of DDR5 RAM kits, with other devices expected to feel the effects soon.

During the earnings call, Mehrotra emphasized the severity of the situation, stating that “over the last few months, our customers’ AI data center build-out plans have driven a sharp increase in demand forecast for memory and storage.” He further added that “supply will remain substantially short of the demand for the foreseeable future,” indicating that the memory shortage is likely to persist for an extended period.

Micron aims to address the supply constraints by ramping up production, with plans to increase its shipments of DRAM and NAND flash memory by 20 percent in the coming year. However, the company acknowledges that even this increase will not be sufficient to keep up with the growing demand. Mehrotra expressed disappointment in the company’s inability to meet the demand from customers across all market segments, despite significant efforts to do so.

Breitbart News previously reported that Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney also sounded the alarm on the future availability of RAM for consumer applications:

Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic Games, known for the megapopular game Fortnite, expressed his concerns about the ongoing RAM pricing crisis and its long-term impact on high-end PC gaming. Sweeney’s comments came in response to a post highlighting the shocking price increase of a Crucial Pro DDR5-6000 RAM kit on Amazon, which jumped from $260 in mid-October to $498 just a month later, despite the ongoing Black Friday deals.

Sweeney stated, “RAM price increases will be a real problem for high-end gaming for several years.” This worrying prediction suggests that PC enthusiasts, power users, and gamers looking to build or upgrade their systems may face significant challenges in the near future. The prolonged nature of this issue could force many to postpone their plans or settle for less powerful configurations.